


How You Come Home

by TheQueen



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, Gen, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Loose Canon, M/M, Root member!Sasuke, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2018-07-24 01:35:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7488237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueen/pseuds/TheQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his brother’s death, Sasuke loses himself to ROOT. This is how they bring him home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Start Here

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [simple glory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/956647) by [kincaidian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kincaidian/pseuds/kincaidian). 



 

It’s there on the wind: rumors and half-whispers from ANBU shadows in the backs of alleys and in the quiet of jounin meeting rooms. Started during the war with Pein and Obito. Boosted by tales bought home by travelers and peddlers. Stories of a man, no — a boy — no — a child with red eyes crying tears of blood as he drops enemy after enemy at his feet. Stories of a ghost erasing the evil of the world. Stories of a warrior who killed the strongest of Akatsuki only to disappear amidst the smoke of battle.

Kakashi tries not to think too much of these stories. Tries to close his ears and his eyes to all the signs and tells and could-be proof because he doesn’t think his heart can take it anymore (because hope is far too fragile). But that doesn’t stop him from flinching whenever he sees a too-black shadow in the corner of his eye. Doesn’t keep him from wishing.

.

They find ROOT.

Things start to make sense.

.

He tells Gai first because Gai has always been better at these things than him.

It helps that Gai doesn’t think he’s crazy. “If my eternal rival says it’s so, it’s so.” Gai smiles up at him. Even bound to a wheel chair, Gai still looks far too large for life and Kakashi answers him with an equally genuine, though smaller, smile. “Do you think he’s here?”

Kakashi doesn’t know and says as much. “He must know ROOT has been dissolved. Why doesn’t he show himself?”

Gai thinks on this for a moment. “Perhaps he does not know how.”

 _Gai,_ Kakashi thinks, _has always been very good with words._

 

 

 

**…**

 

 

 

_They lose Sasuke like this:_

Kakashi has been reborn for two weeks when he receives a summon from the newly-appointed Rodikage and goes because he has to. He has little respect for this man. He has even less patience. But Kakashi will bow to the will of the village in this matter. He is a shinobi, after all. Lord Danzo does not mince words, does not try to soften the blow. He hands him Sasuke’s sword—his because Kakashi can feel the remnants of lightning chakra just barely contained within its steel and he knows that chakra, had nurtured it as it had just barely begun to leave its infancy—along with a scroll and says he has a forty-eight hour mourning period as is customary after the death of a loved one. Kakashi bows and leaves through the door.

He feels numb.

He goes to Sakura first because he does not know how to tell Naruto. He does not know what he can say to soften the blow after they have lost so much, but perhaps Sakura, with all her medic-nin training and practice at telling the truth after a particularly risky surgery, will know something. She takes one look at his face and at the sword still held in his hands and throws herself to the ground, screaming. The walls shake. The floor shakes. Somewhere in the distance someone is shouting something and Kakashi does the only thing he can. He straps the sword to his side, grabs Sakura and makes for the remaining forest around Konoha.

He stands a safe distance away and watches her cry herself out. When she is done, he approaches and touches her shoulder cautiously. She sniffles and looks up at him and Kakashi is reminded, startlingly, of the Sakura who told her she’s going to study under Tsunade-sama the day Naruto left the village. There is a will of fire in her eyes. “How do we tell Naruto?” she asks.

Kakashi enters through the window for the sake of tradition. Sakura picks the lock because she is polite. Naruto squawks in protest, turns red, and breaths in deep. Kakashi steps back, preparing himself for the screaming that is bound to start because as he grows older Naruto only seems to gain more and more of Kushina’s temperament. Then Naruto suddenly deflates. “What’s wrong?”

Kakashi places the sword on the kitchen the table and pulls out the scroll because he doesn’t know what words to say.

“No,” Naruto whispers, running a single finger along the scabbard. “No. No. No…”

Kakashi opens the scroll and summarizes what he’s already read. “He was found after a confrontation with the now-deceased Itachi Uchiha. He fell to battle wounds. The civilian who found his body was too late.”

Naruto is still chanting “no, no, no, no, no” under his breath, and Sakura sobs, trying to still her shaking shoulders. For now, Kakashi continues to feel oddly calm. After all… what is one more heart break (one more failure)?

“At least,” Sakura says between chocked sobs, “he accomplished his goal.”

Kakashi nods.

Naruto shakes his head, “It’s not right,” he says, “It’s… He was supposed to come home.” With a suddenness that catches everyone off guard, Naruto grabs the plate he’d been eating from and throws it across the room so it cracks against the wall with an ear-shattering crash. “HE WAS SUPPOSED TO COME HOME!” Naruto screams and flips the table, but not before Kakashi can rescue Sasuke’s sword. Breathing hard, Naruto snarls at nothing.

Sakura reaches out carefully and Kakashi watches as she wraps her arms around Naruto’s heaving chest. “I know,” she whispers. “It’s not right.”

The fight leaves Naruto just as quickly as it came and he breaks into ugly, noisy sobs. He wraps his arms around Sakura and repeats into her hair, “He was supposed to come home.”

Kakashi steps forward, unsure. But still, he wrap his arms around both of them, and closes his eyes as they cry. If Obito’s eye cries with them then no one is the wiser.

.

Forty-eight hours later, Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto return to the field. Konoha is preparing for war. Konoha needs to be rebuilt. They have been given their time to mourn.

The first time Gai sees him after, he asks for a challenge and Kakashi is quick to comply. He doesn’t want to think.

.

The next time he thinks, Tsunade-sama is leading the charge with Naruto at her right and Kakashi at her left. The other Hokage fall in line around them. The battlefield falls quiet. In front of him stands the true leader, the remaining members of the Atasuki, several reborn Atasuki, and the army they’ve amassed.

As Kakashi charges his kunai, he thinks absently, _It has been a long time since I’ve been on the front lines._

After that, there isn’t time to think. Kakashi ducks and cuts down another one of his opponents and spins. The enemy seems never-ending and the blood feels sticky between his fingers. Sweat drips down the back of his neck as he sweeps the feet out from under another ninja and watches their head hit the ground with the right kind of crack before stabbing another between the third and fourth rib. Efficient. Effective. This is how Kakashi gained his legacy. This is a battlefield he is familiar with. Obito’s eye throbs from use.

In the distance Gai charges, his kicks just as deadly as any kunai and Kakashi makes his way towards his oldest friend. There is a safety in watching each other’s backs. And Kakashi has always trusted Gai to watch his back. It is there, amongst the chaos, that he sees it: a long, black-haired ANBU charging forward, wielding lightning from his fingertips as easily as Kakashi’s own lightning dances across his skin, taking down any enemy who crosses his path. It is enough to make him pause, enough to make him lose his balance before he rights himself and dodge a series of quick strikes from an enemy on his left. When he is safe enough, Kakashi desperately spins, trying to catch another glance. Because for a moment, just for a moment, he could have sworn he’d seen Sasuke smile at him.

But then the battle resumes and he thinks no more.

.

In the end, they win. Naruto stabs his hand through Obito’s chest ( _Obito, Obito, Obito, why? Why when you were supposed to be so much… more than this — charred remains on a battlefield instead of a symbol of hope, of peace, of everything I’ve ever strived for — friendship, love, protection…_ ) and the remainder of the army flees when the last of Atasuki was brought down by an unnamed ANBU with a lightning blade.

.

This is where the rumors start.

.

Tsuande-sama hands him the hat, wishes him luck with all the kindness she can spare him before she returns to her hospital.

It sits heavy on his head as he looks out upon the slowly rebuilding Konoha. Naruto reassures him, makes him promise to “keep the hat warm” for him. Sakura says they’ll help. He appreciates it.

He takes a deep breath and sits down in the chair he’s been running from since the third died and tries not to think of Minato-sensei, tries not think about Obito whose dream it had been to be Hokage before he threw it all away. Instead, for just a moment, he thinks about the son he almost had and wishes, with all his heart, for just one more chance for Team Seven to be whole.

When no one answers him, he sighs and opens his eyes. _Let the next generation have a better chance_ , he thinks bitterly. _Let this cycle end_.

 

 

**…**

 

_They find Sasuke like this:_

Kakashi honestly discovers ROOT by accident. He has never liked Danzo and it is no secret in Konoha that there is no love lost between the two. But when the Third had disbanded the secret branch of ANBU, Kakashi had, like most of ANBU, believed the group gone. So when some of his own try to assassinate him, he does the only smart thing he can do: he investigates.

It’s disturbing how much of what has gone wrong in Kakashi’s life somehow connects to Danzo. It is safe to say he now hates the man. The arrest of Danzo is swift and remorseless. The trial equally brutal. Death sentence by the hands of Ibiki and Co is the least Kakashi can do.

(He is not the Third. He does not forgive.)

But even with him dead, there is still too much to do. Finding out how deep ROOT has sunk its festering claws into Konoha genuinely terrifies Kakashi. When he finds its members, broken children all of them, Kakashi goes home and cries himself to sleep because this is his Konoha, but it is also not. Because his Konoha would have never allowed for something so… so…

Finding the truth about the Uchiha Massacre is too much.  “How?” Kakashi whispers, sorting through the documents Tenzo has brought him, “How could the Third allow this?”

Tenzo has no words for him.

Kakashi goes to Sakura first, because of course he does. He tells her between rounds of gin and she holds his hand while he shakes. The next morning, Kakashi wakes with a hangover for the first time in seven years to find Sakura sitting somberly in the living room, the ROOT documents spread around her in a half circle. Not for the first time Kakashi thinks, Sakura is the strongest of us all. When she looks at Kakashi, her eyes are bloodshot.

“We have to tell the truth,” she says, “for Sasuke.”

Kakashi closes his eyes and slowly nods.

When they tell Naruto, Kakashi expects him to rage, to flip the table, to punch a hole in the wall, to scream. To do something. But Naruto just stares and stares, stays still and silent in the wake of their news. It looks wrong. It feels wrong. Finally, he takes a deep, staggered breath and closes his eyes. “This would have killed him,” Naruto confesses.

“What?”

“Sasuke…” Naruto whispers, “He loved his brother and he killed his brother. But in the end…”

“In the end, Itachi Uchiha was just another victim,” Kakashi concludes.

Sakura starts crying. Quiet broken sobs as she hides her face in her hands.

“In the end…” Naruto says to no one and then he spins and punches a hole in the wall. “Gods…” he hisses. “He never even had a chance.” Naruto is shaking. “He never even… I just wanted him home and happy. I just didn’t want him to be alone anymore. Was that too much to ask? Was that…”

Kakashi stares at the ground, lost. How does he comfort them? How should he salvage this? Can he when he feels the same despair? _It’s not fair,_ Kakashi thinks as he hears his team fall apart (again), _it’s not fair_.

.

The public doesn’t take it well. There are calls for the council’s head. Calls that Kakashi answers with their public removal from office. But it isn’t enough.

(Nothing will ever be enough.)

He pardons Itachi, pardons Sasuke. Has their names added to the memorial stone. Naruto carves Sasuke’s personally in an attempt at closure, but Kakashi doesn’t know if it works. He traces the name with a finger. Tomorrow a professional will come to make it pretty and the lines will smooth out.

 _How many names?_ Kakashi thinks, stepping back to look at the memorial stone. _How many names will I see added before my own?_

He aches. He aches with every battle he has ever fought. He aches with every war he has ever won. And he aches with weight of every friend he has ever lost. He is tired. Never before has Kakashi felt so very tired.

.

 _ROOT_ , Kakashi has come to realize a month into their investigations, _is less like an organization and more like an infection that has been left to fester within the heart of Konoha_. It will take time to clear away the rot.

Around him the various leaders of the five great nations attempt to keep their heads as Kakashi quietly asks for their patients as Konoha attempts to settle its affairs. “I doubt,” Kakashi says after a moment of silence, “that we are the only ones who need to clean house before we can truly settle into this era of peace.” He holds each of their gazes for a moment, a silent reminder of the spies and mercenaries Konoha has found amongst its ranks in the last few months, and smiles.

In the end, the signing of several particularly controversial amendments to the peace charter regarding information sharing is left to be voted on for another year.

.

It’s Tenzo that brings it to his attention. But it’s Sai who makes it a possibility. Finding out Sai was in ROOT wasn’t as big a surprise as he thought it would be. It certainly explained a fair amount. So Kakashi wastes no time getting Sai and a few other loyal former ROOT members working on shuffling through the rooster and mission reports, looking for the remaining unknown members to call the home.

Three months after the project begins, Sai discovers an operative named Hawk. No registaration number. No reference to a civilian name. Just Hawk. He’s a recent recruit (one of the few not trained from birth) tasked with the long term mission of discovering and eliminating threats towards Konoha and its Hokage; Hawk’s mission reports are brief and, at times, useless. Only their hospital reports appear to have any details. It is there that Sai discovers a clue. An eye surgery. Specifically an eye surgery involving the eyes of one Itachi Uchiha.

“It could mean nothing,” Tenzo warns when Kakashi is too silent for too long. “It doesn’t have to be an Uchiha.”

Kakashi sets the report down slowly as if any sudden movement might be too much of a strain. “Have you heard the rumors?”

Tenzo says nothing.

“Of the ghost crying tears of blood for every enemy they destroy?” Kakashi whispers. “Of the ANBU that took down the reincarnated Deidara and Sasori during the war? The ANBU who aided Naruto in the last leg of the war…”

“Kakashi,” Tenzo warns gently.

Kakashi’s heart is beating too fast and his breath is coming in just a little too short. He doesn’t know if he’s overjoyed or panicking. He wonders if at one point they start to feel the same. “It could be…” Kakashi starts and then cuts himself off. Hope is dangerous. Hope hurts. But… he wants to. He wants to.

“Don’t do anything rash,” Tenzo orders.

Kakashi nods.

.

He tells Gai first.

Gai pats him on the shoulder, wishes him good luck, and reminds him he’s here for him.

 _This_ , Kakashi thinks, _is why Gai is my best friend_.

.

Sakura says they can’t tell Naruto and Kakashi agrees.

 _Naruto,_ Kakashi thinks, _is not ready for hope_.

(Kakashi thinks neither is he.)

It had been hard watching Naruto destroy himself; carve off piece after piece until he was the very perfect picture of what a future Hokage should be. Kind, patient, and unmovable. He’d thrown himself into politics, clawing his way to an apprenticeship under Shika Nara to learn strategy and politics. Gone, it seemed, was the loud brat Kakashi had come to see, in his own way, as family. In his place stood a man. And if at times Kakashi saw Sasuke in Naruto’s smirk, underhand barns and stubborn set of the jaw then there was little Kakashi could do to stop it.

(Kakashi knew all too well the appeal and burden of living for two. But… if hope could turn into reality—and when had Kakashi ever been so lucky?—perhaps he could remove that temptation from Naruto.)

But for now they look for clues of where Hawk is stationed. Sai says it is possible that not all of ROOT knows it is technically disbanded. “We’ve discovered operations running in the background for years with little to no input from Danzo-sama,” Sai admits, “some for so long that they did not know the Third attempted to shut down the program to begin with.”

“Some,” Yamato points out, ever the rationalist, “we might not even want to close. This operative is working in intelligence, correct?”

“And take-downs,” Sakura adds, shuffling through a few pages. “You’ve seen the hospital reports. Hawk has removed entire armies before Konoha even knew about them.”

This is where Kakashi steps in, “Even if it is useful, every shinobi is given the right to turn down a mission. ROOT has removed that right. That is not how I will run my Konoha.” He gives Yamato a measured glance before turning to Sai. “Get me in contact with these operatives. They have a right to their history. And leave the files. I’ll discuss which ones to keep with the Council next Tuesday.”

With that, he picks up his brush and it’s as clear a dismissal as they’re going to get.

.

It is three weeks later when Kakashi is coming home from tea country after far too many hours with their daimyo, renegotiating the taxes on shipments relative to the men assigned to protecting the port cities from an influx of mist pirates, when he sees him. The assassination attempt is nothing to sneer at. The fact that they get the drop on his men (two former ANBU, one ANBU, and two Special Jounin) is a testament to their skill alone. And it doesn’t help that their numbers overwhelm them two to one. _Clearly_ , Kakashi thinks, _whoever wants me dead is paying very well_.

It is in the midst of battle that Kakashi sees him once again: long black hair, porcelain-white mask with bird of prey markings along the edges, and lightning dancing from his fingertips. And Kakashi knows that chakra, had known it in its infancy and now again as it reaches adulthood: the quiet hum before the storm so perfectly mimicking his own. He downs the enemies closest to him with three shocks around the heart and a kunai to the throat, trying to clear a path.

As the enemies become manageable from ten to four to one, Kakashi abandons the battle, throws down a series of mud walls in an attempt to cage him in. “Hawk,” Kakashi calls out as Hawk shatters one wall and then another, hesitating for only a moment before taking to the trees.

Kakashi wastes no time following. He will not lose his student again. He will not let Sasuke leave again. The chase is long. One hour. Two. The foliage is thick in these woods and Hawk knows them better than him. As Kakashi drops down from the trees to reorient himself, Kakashi calls out, “Come home, Sasuke.”

But Sasuke does not answer him. It is only when he can no longer sense the familiar hum of lightning on the wind that Kakashi admits defeat, slowing and then, inevitably, returning to his comrades. None are injured beyond the normal bruising or small cuts. And they are all kind enough not to comment.

.

Kakashi tells them the minute he returns to the village. Sakura is the only one who believes him.

“I do not understand,” Sai says. “If he is close, why does he not reveal himself?”

“Is that important?” Sakura snaps. The bags under her eyes have deepened since the last time Kakashi has seen her and he knows she has another rotation at the hospital coming up. _Caught between her two teachers_ , Kakashi muses. He makes a note to tell Tsunade-sama she needs to rest. At this rate, she’ll make a mistake.

Sai seems upset by this remark (or as upset as Sai tends to be, but Yamato has done wonders for the boy). “You and dickless rarely seem to consider the traitor’s motives. How is that a good strategy for bringing him back?”

Sakura snarls, “Don’t fucking call him that.”

Sai smiles. “Call who what? Dickless or tra-.”

“Don’t,” Kakashi cuts in, silencing both of them. “Sai, check ANBU records. It might be possible he’s been entering the building without us aware. And let Yamato know I need a report on Council feelings. I’m not going into another session concerning ROOT blind. Sakura, you’re with me.”

Sai nods and calmly leaves through the west window. He’s gotten better at not simply body flickering away and Kakashi has no ground to stand on when it comes to convincing the boy to use a door. Sakura collects her coat as Kakashi stands and takes off his hat.

“Where are we going?” she asks, following Kakashi out the door.

Kakashi nods to the two ANBU at the door, telling them to stand down and stay. “We’re going to tell Naruto.”

.

They find Naruto stepping out of the Mission Report office, traveler’s pack secured on his shoulders, and munching on a chocolate chip cookie. When he spots them standing half in the shade of a large oak discussing quietly amongst themselves, he says, “Hey guys!”

He’s grinning, Kakashi notes, instead of that half-smile that he’s adopted from Sasuke. His outfit is more black than orange these days, but his backpack is toad-green with smiling frogs patterned on the outside and it’s the most Naruto thing Kakashi has ever seen. Kakashi asks, “Are you going on a mission?”

Naruto nods and launches into an explanation of the diplomatic mission for which he has to visit Sand. Kakashi remembers signing off on it, but he’d left the lead diplomat up to Shikamaru. He’d picked well.

“Naruto…” Sakura cuts in as Naruto winds down from his explanation and Kakashi tries not to fidget. Not for the first time does he feel guilty for keeping Naruto out of the loop for so long when the rest of Team Seven had known, but it was necessary. He knows that. But he also knows Naruto will not appreciate it.

Naruto’s grin wavers, as he looks her in the eye. “Why is it whenever you two come to me, I know something awful is about to happen?”

Kakashi looks away and he hears Sakura sigh. “Kakashi-sensei…” she urges and Kakashi takes a deep breath.

“Sasuke is alive.”

“That’s not funny,” Naruto snaps almost immediately. There is a moment of silence as Sakura fidgets next to him and Kakashi braces himself. When Naruto looks back at them, he’s glaring is all Sasuke, “That isn’t funny,” he emphasizes.

“There is a ROOT operative: Hawk,” Kakashi explains. “No civilian name or registration number. Tasked with the finding and removal of all threats towards Konoha and her Hokage.” He clears his throat. “He has Itachi’s eyes.”

Naruto takes a deep breath, screws his eyes shut, and grits his teeth. From the tension in his shoulders to his clenched fists, Kakashi knows he is trying to hold in his scream. When he speaks, his voice is hoarse. “That isn’t him,” Naruto insists.

“I saw him,” Kakashi adds.

Naruto punches the tree. Kakashi and Sakura do not flinch. They had expected this. When he removes his hand, his knuckles are bloody. “Then why hasn’t he told anyone? ROOT has been disbanded for half a year now.”

This is where Sakura steps in, “We think he can’t? Some kind of seal or memory loss? When Kakashi-sensei met him, he didn’t seem to recognize his name.”

“That’s not…possible…” Naruto shakes his head. _Naruto_ , Kakashi thinks, _has realized how fragile hope is_. “It isn’t enough.”

“Don’t you know the rumors,” Kakashi whispers, “of the ANBU with red eyes and a lightning blade? Who helped end the war?”

Naruto says nothing.

“Of the shadow who ended the Cloud Rebellion before it could start? The man who brought in two Konoha missing-nin who’d managed to steal a Byakugan?”

Naruto is shaking, breathing harsh, and Sakura reaches out with steady hands but he steps away. She tries to conceal the hurt on her face.

“The boy who put down the remaining Akatsuki forces in the months that followed the war?”

There is another moment of silence before Naruto looks Kakashi in the eye and snarls, “I’m going after him.” There is determination etched into every line on his face and it has been a long time since Kakashi has seen Naruto look so very… Naruto. The Will of Fire burns in his eyes.

“Your mission?” Kakashi asks though he doesn’t really mean it. He knows Naruto will go. He expects Naruto to go.

“Send Gaara my apologies,” Naruto says, handing Kakashi the mission scroll.

“How do you know he isn’t in the village?” Sakura points out.

Naruto laughs, a little bitter, “Because he hasn’t visited me in weeks.”


	2. Come Home

_ They try to bring Sasuke home like this: _

Seven months later, Naruto sends a toad with a map hidden beneath its tongue and a piece of paper saying “Alive.”

Kakashi hands the hat to Shikamaru under strict orders not to let the place burn down for five months and grabs Sakura on her way to the hospital with the her only warning being to pack as many medical supplies as possible. She reads the piece of paper, spies the toad under his arm and tells him she’ll be ready in four hours.

They’re out of the village before anyone can stop them.

The journey is hard. They push themselves harder. They won’t accept anything less. When they reach, it’s two months later and in all his travels Kakashi has never been this far from the village. The forest is alien.

“It’s quiet,” Sakura whispers. The air here is thick and humid. Despite the early hour, the forest is as dark as a moonless night. Kakashi hesitates on bringing out any source of fire. They don’t know what they’ll attract here. “How do we find them?”

Kakashi summons Pakun. They set off.

“How do we even know they’re still here?” Sakura hisses two days later as they rest within several thick branches, Pakun curled in Kakashi’s lap. Kakashi says nothing. There is nothing he can say. But hope flutters close to his heart and he holds onto it as dearly as he can.

“They have to be.”

 

.

 

In the end, Pakun leads them to a snake, which wraps itself around Sakura’s arm, and points left with its tail. They follow.

They find them in a small cave that feels far too much like a home: Sasuke, fast asleep with his head in Naruto on his lap, Naruto scribbling quickly on a strip of cloth. When he senses them, he looks up and a tired grin makes its way onto his face. “Took you long enough.”

Sakura makes her way towards them, drops to her knees, and smacks Naruto soundly across the shoulder. Her shoulders are shaking and there are tears in her eyes, but she is smiling. Naruto echoes her. “You asshole,” she hisses and draws him into a hug.

To Kakashi’s dismay, Sasuke does not wake during this exchange. “Is he alright?” Kakashi asks, coming closer to check on the former-ROOT member.

Naruto looks up at him with far too sad eyes. “No.”

 

.

 

Memory loss, Naruto explains, thanks to a series of seals down his spine. “I haven’t tried to remove it,” Naruto admits. “Considering Sai’s silencing seal, it’ll probably kill him if I try.”

“Does he trust you?” Sakura asks. In the corner of the cave, Sasuke is reorganizing their supplies, watching them from the corner of his eye. Kakashi watches as he quietly redistributes the rations to accommodate two more mouths and notices that one pile has a significantly less amount.

“I found him in the village months before you told me. Bleeding,” Naruto admits, “I didn’t know he was Sasuke. I just thought he was ANBU, yah-know. He wouldn’t let me take him to the hospital so I treated him best I could and he started stopping by once a week when he was in the village for somethin’ to eat. Company?” He squeezes his hands together and can’t quite meet their eyes. “I didn’t know. I thought I was just….” He shrugs.

And Kakashi understands. Even with all the signs they’d never considered the possibility. How could they when thinking like that always led to heartbreak?

Sakura is pressing her hands around Naruto’s face, the faint green glow of healing chakra emphasizing the stress lines and dark bags under his eyes. “When is the last time you slept?” His shirt is splattered with mud and there is a strip of cloth holding his long bangs out of his face. “Or showered?”

Naruto shrugs. “Sasuke got injured.”

“Sakura will check him,” Kakashi orders, “You need to rest. I’m going to check the border.”

It’s a testament to how far they’ve come when Naruto doesn’t argue.

 

.

 

Kakashi knew Sasuke’s mother once: a beautiful kunoichi, one of the deadliest of her year with a sharp tongue and sharper blades. Few had been immune to her smile and Kakashi had harbored his own brief crush on the older woman after an afternoon aiding the Uchiha in rebuilding a portion of the Uchiha compound wall (cage, Kakashi can now realize) burnt by an accident with one of the Uchiha’s traditional katons. She’d offered him lemonade and told him a story from her time infiltrating Snow Country during a late-afternoon break. Even at a young age, Kakashi had known Sasuke would take after his mother but it had been less prominent.

The Sasuke Kakashi knew grew up to be a quiet, sullen boy with fire burning in his eyes and a stubborn set to his jaw. A kid prone to slouching, who kept to himself. A warrior with far too many walls and far too much pain, weighed down by something Kakashi had always struggled to understand. In many ways, that Sasuke had rarely reminded Kakashi of the woman who raised him.

That is no longer true. The older teen in front of him is every bit his mother’s son. Their similarities are unmistakable. From the gentle chin to the sharp calculating eyes to the strong posture and quiet smile that Kakashi knows holds back fangs.

(But that does not mean the boy Kakashi knew is gone… No… he sees it in the set of his jaw and the fire in his eyes…even if Sasuke does not.)

When they first step outside, Sasuke bows low. “Hokage-sama.”

Kakashi places a gentle hand on the former-ROOT member’s shoulder and smiles kindly. He has met enough ROOT at this point to be familiar with the dogma Danzo had stuffed down their throats. He has not stood for it. He will not start now. The Hokage is still just a man. “Maa Sasuke,” Kakashi says, forcing the boy to look at him. “I’m still your sensei. No need for all that.”

Sasuke stands straight. “Naruto had said as much. But I had been unsure.”

Kakashi takes a moment to just look at the boy. To see how his hair has grown out. To see the way he shifts and holds himself, with grace that comes from a lifetime of fighting. It has been five years since he has trained this boy, but he smells like a storm before lightening. Like Kakashi. Something in Kakashi’s heart aches. “Naruto said you are injured.”

Sasuke does not look injured but it would not be the first time his student has hidden an injury from him. “I would prefer to accompany you.”

“Is there danger?” Kakashi asks, strapping his kunai pouch to his side. Outside their cave the forest is as quiet as ever, but some light has managed to filter its way down.  

“No,” Sasuke says immediately and then clarifies, “Not in the immediate vicinity. The wild life is not our concern.”

Kakashi nods, filing that away, before leaping into the trees. Sasuke follows.

“What else has Naruto told you?” Kakashi asks as they begin their patrol. Sasuke seems unconcerned and so Kakashi will follow his lead in this strange, new territory.

Sasuke does not say anything for a moment. “My name,” Sasuke says, “And that Danzo is gone. ROOT is disbanded. And some things about my time with him... before.”

Kakashi frowns. “When we return to Konoha, we will take a look into your seals,” he offers.

Suddenly Sasuke pauses on a branch and Kakashi has to leap back to him. He is staring down at his shoes. Kakashi waits. This forest unnerves him. Despite being made up of trees the same height and width that made the forests of the Fire Country so famous, it feels nothing like home. Too humid. Too hot. No wind to move the air. Once Naruto is healed, they will leave. Kakashi does not know what has kept them here other than Sasuke’s injuries, but they cannot stay. They do not have the rations to stay.

“What if,” Sasuke says, finally, “I don’t want to remember.”

 

.

 

Sakura says it makes sense. “His life hasn’t been easy,” She admits once Sasuke has gone to bed. Naruto stands close by. He has yet to say anything on the matter. “What if he’s happier this way?”

**…**

  
  


_ Sasuke refuses to come home like this: _

“I have been tracking the group for months,” Sasuke insists, “They are a danger to Konoha. To turn our back is not something I will stand for.”

Kakashi disagrees, “Neither of you are in top form,” Kakashi argues, “We are two months out from Konoha at top speed. A group of ten would take double the time. We have time to regroup and fortify. To attempt to remove them now is unnecessary.”

Sasuke grits his teeth and the sight hits Kakashi with a pang of nostalgia. Besides him, Sakura finishes rewrapping Sasuke’s arm, the wounds now more like a fresh scars the gaping wounds that Kakashi had spied when Sasuke had finally allowed Sakura to treat him two days ago.

“This is my mission,” Sasuke insists, “And the mission--.”

“The mission has never been worth your life, Sasuke Uchiha,” Kakashi cuts in, voice louder than he intends and Sasuke flinches. Naruto reaches out a hand before letting it fall. Unsure. Kakashi takes a deep breath and tries to stop the shaking in his shoulders. “I will not bury you again.”

And with that, he leaves. He needs to cool his head before he says anything else he’ll regret.

 

.

 

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke offers.

Kakashi looks up at the night sky from his place by the entry of the cave. If he squints he can see stars.

“Naruto says…” Sasuke starts, “We used to be close.”

Kakashi looks at him and tries to smile, but it feels weak. His heart aches. “I taught you your lightning,” Kakashi says in explanation.

Sasuke looks down at his hands, makes his chakra dance across his palms like little fireworks, and then looks at Kakashi. “Thank you.” His voice is heavy and Kakashi understands.

He dares to reach out and ruffle Sasuke’s hair.

 

.

 

It takes two more weeks for Sasuke to finally admit defeat; two more weeks of Naruto’s steady pressuring (so gentle the man Naruto is growing to be when Kakashi knows once Naruto would have leveled the forest dragging Sasuke home) and two more weeks of Sakura’s medic-based demands.

“Hospitals,” she often tells them (her boys all too stupid to listen), “Are not evil. And there is only so much I can do.”

“But you’re amazing,” Sasuke tells her because he’s come to understand (though he doesn’t remember why just yet) the power his kindness has over the group.

Sakura blushes and rolls her eyes. “Sasuke Uchiha, do not even try.”

 

.

 

The night Sasuke says he will return to Konoha, he takes Kakashi-sensei aside and asks him if the village will welcome him.

“Why do you ask that?” Kakashi presses.

Sasuke shrugs, looks first at the ground and then at him, “Danzo…”

Kakashi does not need to hear more. “Konoha is your home, Sasuke,” Kakashi promises. “You will always have a home with me.”

  
  


**…**

  
  
  
  


_ Sasuke comes home like this:  _

Their trek to Konoha takes one and a half months. The urge to go home after such a long absence from their duties as Hokage, Medic, and Student driving them forward. Only Sasuke seems uncertain, dragging his feet, and hesitating just so slightly at the village gate. It is understandable.

The nin on watch stares. The people in the street stare. Sasuke wears his ANBU mask and does his best to keep his shoulders straight. But those who knew Team Seven in its conception knows only two people who can so seamlessly blend into their dynamic. And Sai is accounted for back at the Hokage tower.

Tenzo meets them at the tower two hours later after Sasuke and Naruto have been checked in to the hospital with strict orders not to let the press in. “What will you do now?” Tenzo asks as Kakashi sits at his desk, starring in dismay at the pile of paperwork Shikamaru has left him.

“I don’t know,” Kakashi admits.

Tenzo sighs and takes a seat. “I’ve never known you to be so reckless.”

“I’ve never been very rational when it comes to these kids,” Kakashi jokes.

“No,” Tenzo agrees. “I suppose you have not.”

 

.

 

Of course just because Sasuke is home in his Konoha doesn’t mean things are okay or right again. 

It is a easy to get him into the hospital, to treat his wounds. But when the discussion of his seal returns, he is unmoveable. 

“I don’t understand,” Naruto confides one night as they watch Sasuke sleep. The medic-nin-that-isn’t-Sakura had insisted an induced sleep would help increase chakra healing and boost his immunity. Sasuke had gone under peaceful with the condition that his team stay close. “Why he doesn’t want to remember?”

Kakashi sighs and pats Naruto on the shoulder in solidarity before adding, “His life wasn’t easy...before.”

Naruto doesn’t say anything. Still as statues, they watch Sasuke till the sunrises. As Sakura comes back with coffee and bagels and a promise the medic-nin will be in to wake Sasuke soon, Naruto whispers, “But it was his...ours….”

 

.

 

It’s strange. It’s strange coming home to someone else after a long day in the hokage office. It’s stranger coming home with the knowledge Sasuke would be there. It’s stranger seeing Sasuke sitting in sweatpants on his sofa, slowly flipping through a copy of  _ T’was Six Nights _ . It’s terrifying knowing he could get used to this. 

“Your friends want to see you,” Kakashi says as he takes off his shoes and throws the robes over the coat rack and the hat on the kitchen table. 

Sasuke hums, looking up from the pages with a curious expression, “My friends?” 

Kakashi frowns, considering… “Naruto’s friends,” he clarifies. “You grew up with them… but your class was never close until the war.”

Sasuke nods, “I remember that war.”

“I think I saw you… on the battlefield,” Kakashi admits, turning on the coffee pot. He’s never told anyone but Gai. He wonders, sometimes, what would have happened if he’d managed to reach Sasuke in that bloodbath. ”I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me.”

“It’s probably for the best you didn’t.” Sasuke turns back to his book, “I’d like to meet them, Naruto’s friends.”

Kakashi nods and starts flipping through the take out menus. “I’ll let Naruto know. 

 

.

 

Once… before Sasuke left and Orochimaru came to the village, they had a mission. It was a simple (actual) C rank mission retrieval and delivery for a merchant in the land of rice. Kakashi, still new to being a genin teacher and unsure if he’s doing anything right, had spent the mission teaching them how to move scentless and silently through the trees, how to squish their chakra down til you couldn’t tell if they were a person or a bird (Naruto would never truly learn this lesson). 

At one point they’d stopped at an inn. Kakashi had been feeling frivolous; the kids had been as good as they could be. They’d spent the night soaking in the hotspring. Kakashi, with a towel over his face, had dared to nap. 

Six hours later, two explosions, and a bottle of pickles later, he’d been running with one boy under each arm as Sakura had followed behind, cackling as she carried the basket containing their clothes and packs. 

In his old age, staring blankly at the latest pile of paperwork, he’ll remember it with the golden touch of nostalgia.

 

.

 

The party is in full swing by the time Kakashi drags himself home. For a moment, he’s left standing at the door in confusion as a variety of teenages make themselves at home in his kitchen and his living room before remembering they were here to see Sasuke.

_ It’s refreshing, _ he thinks as he grabs a drink from the counter and grimaces against the acid burn of cheap liquor,  _ to get to see these kids be kids _ . To watch them dance idiotically in his living room as Sakura and Ino compete at the karaoke while Sasuke stands awkwardly between them, humming the lyrics. To roll his eyes when Kiba dares to compete against Choji in a drinking contest. To see Sai sitting in the corner with a real, genuine small smile on his face. It’s hard to remember, sometimes, that they were just kids, barely adults. They’d fought in a war, killed and bleed and nearly died for their country. But they were still just kids. 

So it’s good to see them get to relax.

Kakashi doesn’t linger, wishes everyone a good night when he finishes his glass before retiring his room. He’s old, afterall. He has work tomorrow. He picks a book off the shelf and shuts the door and thinks about getting lunch with Gai tomorrow. 

Two hours later, he wakes to the knowledge someone was in his room. He grunts, barely awake despite the intrusion. Instead… he knows they won’t hurt them. As he blinks his eyes open and sits up, he feels no urgency to defend. When the bed dips, he sighs softly and shuffles over to make room. “You feeling okay?” 

“It got too much,” Sasuke admits, lying down like he used to when he was a genin and they’d all share a sleeping bag. Sasuke to his left. Sakura and Naruto to his right. “Though it’s winding down.”

Kakashi nods and closes his eyes. “Naruto and Sakura will see them out.” He yawns, “We’ll clean up tomorrow. Good night, Sasuke”

“Good night,” Sasuke says.

Minutes later they’re both fast asleep.

 

.

 

Then one night, as they’re cleaning up after dinner, Kakashi asks Sasuke why.

Sasuke shrugs, “Why do you think I don’t want to remember?”

Kakashi scrubs the last of the plates and places it in the dishwasher to dry. “I have ideas… but it’s wrong to assume.”

“Do you want me to remember?” Sasuke asks.

“I think you should,” Kakashi admits, “I don’t think its right to forget your history, your clan. Even if it… might be easier.”

“What if it is easier,” Sasuke presses. “What if you’re happier not remembering?”

Kakashi sighs and takes a seat at the table. “You know… when I was five, my father killed himself.”

Sasuke stumbles, nearly drops the glass he’s holding. Kakashi flashes an apologetic smile and gestures to the table. Sasuke takes a seat. Kakashi takes a deep breath. “There were… circumstances. He was unhappy and I didn’t help.”

“You were five,” Sasuke argues. “You were a kid.”

“I was,” Kakashi nods. He clears his throat and “But that’s not my point… my point is I’m not saying its the same or that you can compare tragedies. But I lost the last of my clan in an awful way. It hurt… it still hurts. It took me a long time to forgive and move on. But now I can remember the good times. I can remember when I was happy with my father without it hurting because… I healed and I remember.”

“So I need to heal,” Sasuke says, wringing his hands. 

“I think you need to,” Kakashi agrees, remembering that angry bitter child. “I don’t think you ever tried to before.”

“But what if it’s hard?” Sasuke asks. 

“I think it will be,” Kakashi sighs. 

“What if it’s not worth it?” 

Kakashi smiles and takes Sasuke’s hand in his. “Only you can decide that.” When Sasuke doesn’t look convinced, he tries, “Compromise. Learn as much as you can about your life and your clan and then decide if you want to learn the rest.”

Sasuke looks to the window and out onto Konoha. “That… Like a mission?”

“Consider it a mission,” Kakashi says because he can compromise too. “I’ll have Gai, my friend, help you find your way around the village. He has access to the archives that you don’t. Do your recon. Then… decide.”

“Okay,” Sasuke smiles. “I can do that.”

 

.

 

Kakashi lets Gai know the next day. Gai doesn’t even blink an eye, instead his smile only grows wider. He laughs, claps Kakashi on the back, and booms, “I would be honored.”

Kakashi smiles and knows Gai can see it behind the mask. “Knew I could count on you.”

 

.

 

Kakashi is halfway through the day’s piles of paperwork and has just finished penning a reply to the daiyomo with a promise for tea one of these days when Naruto comes in baring his latest workload. 

“I pulled the short straw,” he jokes, laying the scrolls out on the desk, big impractical bulky things. Legal documents. 

Kakashi groans and pouts, “Naruto!”

Naruto grins, sheepish, “Part of the job.”

Kakashi drags one of the scrolls closer and beings to unroll it. “I can’t wait to give you this hat.” 

He waits, pausing as the silence grows longer before looking up to see Naruto lost in thought, a quiet contemplative expression on his face. “Naruto?”

Naruto frowns at him, “Why… why didn’t you tell me about Sasuke?”

Kakashi signs and sets the scroll aside, giving Naruto his full attention. He won’t bother playing dumb. “What if I’d been wrong?” 

Naruto nods, clearly connecting the dots. “I would have never forgiven you for giving me false hope.” 

Kakashi smiles, “That’s why I couldn’t tell you.”

**…**

  
  


_ Sasuke recovers like this: _

Five months, too many talks, to many trade deals and diplomatic meetings, and late nights later finds Kakashi here, relaxing on his sofa and valiantly fighting against sleep as Sasuke reads him the last chapter of  _ Seven Seconds, Seven Dreams.  _

It’s a depressing tale; the story of love shattered by the tides of war. The main character, Hannah, chooses duty. Sasuke had hoped she wouldn't. Kakashi knew she would.

(After all, he would do the same wouldn’t he? Wouldn’t they all?)

As Sasuke finishes the last few sentences, lingering carefully on each word, Kakashi yawns and stretches, lets his legs uncurl to poke at Sasuke’s sides before he settles back down. In the last few months, Sasuke has made short work of his library (even the ecchi content, something Naruto had hilariously freaked out about) and he settles in with the assumption that Sasuke would be quick to grab the next novel in the series.

Instead, he listens to Sasuke setting the book on the side table before slumping into the sofa. Together they sit in mutual, thoughtful silence broken only by the creaks of the apartment around them and the wind against the windows. 

Then Sasuke says, “I want my memories back.” and it’s as if the world holds its breath.

Kakashi runs his tongue over his teeth and curls his toes. “... ok.”

“Okay?” Sasuke repeats.

Kakashi nods, “You’ve thought about this.”

“I have,” Sasuke promises. 

“Then okay,” Kakashi smiles. “We’ve had sealers working on studying Danzo’s creations for the last few months. We’ll take it off. We’ll go see them tomorrow if you want.”

He keeps his eyes closed as Sasuke thinks. “I…,” Sasuke takes a deep breath. “Ok.”

 

.

 

Naruto, of course, is beyond ecstatic. Sakura is equally pleased though quieter when she enters his house with demands for a celebratory dinner. He considers backing out of it. He’s honestly exhausted and Naruto had warned him another delegate from Grass would be joining them soon. He’d need to be well rested to keep up with the political doublespeak. But Sasuke wasn’t hearing it. 

“I already invited Gai,” he says, a clear last resort. Perhaps he’d wanted to keep it a surprise? “So if you back out now it’ll just be Gai and us and all your embarrassing childhood memories.”

Well… Kakashi has grown old enough to knows when it’s best to just give in. 

It’s a good evening. Hell, it’s a shit ton of fun! He gets a good mellow tipsy and spends half the evening playing (and losing) at shogi and poker and thumb wrestling when he claims Gai and Sakura have rigged the deck and Sasuke is laughing too hard to keep his sharingan active (the cheating cheater) and Naruto is back with more drinks, the horrible enabler. 

That doesn’t stop him from taking a glass… or two (or four but really who's counting).

At some point he loses track of the kids, finds himself sitting against Gai’s wheelchair and watching the stars in some park. His anbu an ever present safety blanket leaving him with the freedom of getting smashed. Gai’s petting his hair, oddly quiet. 

He blinks and looks up at the stars. “Did you ever think… we’d get here?” Kakashi asks after a long, peaceful pause. 

“No,” Gai admits. The moon, a beautiful white crescent, stands in contrast with the rest of the night sky.

Kakashi nods and smiles. “Me neither.” 

 

.

 

Of course good things aren’t made to last. That would be too easy. 

If Kakashi has learned anything in the last 30 some years of his life, he does not get steady rises. He gets waves. He gets mountains and valleys. 

The army Sasuke had been investigating seven months ago are seen encroaching on his borders. He has three hours to think before Sasuke is in his office, armor on. He knows it is the right thing to do. He knows Sasuke is more than equipped for this mission. He’s application for active duty had been approved two months ago. He has a unique history with this group that would prove invaluable, information he might not be able to verbalise but still use. 

He sees the armor around Sasuke’s shoulders and the sword—his because Kakashi can feel the remnants of lightning chakra just barely contained within its steel and he knows that chakra, had nurtured it as it had just barely begun to leave its infancy—sheathed at his hip an does not react rationally.

“You know I can do this!” Sasuke roars, fist pounding against the desk. Four months ago, Sasuke would never have dared to raise his voice against his commanding officer, would never have dared to think about going against his orders. Kakashi cannot help the pride he feels looking up at this young man, looking up and seeing how far he came. “Kakashi-sensei, please!”

Kakashi diverts his gaze, clenching his fingers together. It is unbecoming to let his personal feelings interfere with the safety and preservation of konoha. It is an insult to the men and women who came before him to allow himself to be compromised. But he has never been rational when it comes to his kids. “I can’t bury you again,” Kakashi admits, quiet enough that not even his anbu can here.

Sasuke falters, eyes going wide before he’s there pulling Kakashi in for a hug. Even this would have been unthinkable two months ago. And Kakashi is so, so proud. “I have to do this, Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke says gently. “You know I can do this.”

Kakashi is the first to let go. He nods solemnly and takes a deep breath. “You will not go without backup. You may pick your team,” Kakashi already knows who Sasuke has chosen after all, “You will not engage directly unless provoked.”

Sasuke accepts the scroll. “I won’t leave again Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke promises. He hesitates for a moment and then adds. “Even once I remember. Konoha is my home now. Thank you for letting me protect it.” 

Kakashi smiles around the stone in his throat. He’s so very proud.

 

.

 

“Why?” Kakashi asks Gai later that night in the privacy of Gai’s apartment, the dim lights of the city filtering past the blinds. He stares deeply into his tea.

“You raised them well,” Gai says gently. Gai understands. Gai buried Neji. Kakashi had wheeled him to the edge of the grave and watched as he’d thrown the fourth handful of dirt. Kakashi had handed him tissues and sat at his bedside when the mornings left them on bad days and worse days. Kakashi had held him as he’d demanded justice from the universe. Gai understands.

“I just want them safe,” Kakashi admits. “Sakura and her hospital. Naruto and his politics. Why… why must Sasuke always end up on the front lines.”

“He’s your son,” Gai reminds him.

 

.

 

The day Sasuke is set to leave, Kakashi hands him the wolf mask. “Come home,” Kakashi reminds him.

Sasuke smiles, hands him back the hawk, and slips the wolf into place, “I will.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINISHED THIS! I know for a while there it was touch and go. But I recently really got into Naruto again and I had to come back to this. I just love this universe so much. ^U^ 
> 
> Thank you everyone who left me wonderful comments and kudos and bookmarked my fic. Please feel free to check out my other works!! 
> 
> As always, please let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> LMAO. What is canon, really? I had a lot of fun writing this! It just got really long. And don't worry, I am continuing [Two Heads Are Better Than One (Until You Have None)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7236382/chapters/16428310). I've written chapter four. Just waiting for my beta's feedback. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think!
> 
> Shout out to my Beta: [TheMaelStromWrites](http://archiveofourown.org/users/themaelstromwrites/pseuds/themaelstromwrites)


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